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(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 1. J. N. MOEHN. GAR COUPLING.

No. 536,537. Patented Mar. 26,1895.

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wjlgzsses NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN N. MOEHN, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, AssIcNoR OF THREE- FOURTHS TOADOLF BOGUSLAWSKY, HERMAN KATZ, AND JACOB KATZ, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 536,537, dated March 26,1895.

Application filed October 12, 1894- Serial No. 525,'704=. (No model.)

ways for the plate 3; but the ways in which To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN N. MOEHN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and'State ofWisconsin, have invented a new and useful Oar-Coupling, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in car couplings.

The object of the presentinvention is to-improve the construction of carcouplings, and to. provide a simple and inexpensive one, which will becapable of coupling automatically, and which may be readily uncoupledwithout going between cars.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficientbumper having a cushioning spring, adapted to operate as the cushioningspring of the draw-head.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combinationand'arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car couplingconstructed in accordance with this invention, and shown applied to acar. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional view. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showingtwo cars coupled. Fig.5 is a transverse sectional view, illustrating theposition of the parts when the draw-head is uncoupled. Fig. 6 is areverse plan view. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view illustrating theconstruction of the drawfhead and its yielding wedge.

Like numerals of reference indicatecorrespondin g partsin all thefigures of the draw ings.

1 designates a draw-head, beveled at one side, and provided with ashoulder, and having a link receiving recess at its outer end, and acoupling pin perforation, to permit it to be readily coupled with'carshaving the ordinary pin and link can coupling. The drawhead is pivotedat the inner end of its shank 2 to a plate 3, which is slidingly mountedon the frame of a car 4, the latter being preferably provided on itsdraw-timbers 5 with metal straps 6, having projecting tongues, formingthe plate 3 slides, may be of any other desired construction.

The plate 3 is adapted to slide longitudinally of the car, and it isprovided near its front end with a depending keeper 7, receiving thedraw-head and limiting the lateral swing thereof on its pivot 8; and thedraw-head is held normally at one side of the keeper by means of aspring 9, which forces the drawhead inward, for holding it in engagemetwith the draw-head of a corresponding coupling. In the accompanyingdrawings, the spring is shown flat, with one end secured to the keeper,and its other end engaging the shank of the draw-head; but a spiralspring may be employed for this-purpose.

On one side of the draw-head, in rear of the beveled portion andshoulder, is mounted a resilient plate 10, hinged at its front end tothe draw-head, in a recess thereof, and extending rearward and outwardat an angle to the drawhead, and adapted to engage a corre- 7 spondingdraw-head for the purpose of separating two draw-heads for uncoupling.The hinged angularly disposed plate 10 forms a yielding wedge, and isengaged at its rear face by a spring 11, located in the recess 12 of theshank of the draw-head.

When the draw-head is coupled, or in position for coupling, its lateralmovement is limitedby a lug or stop 13 extending through a perforationof the bottom of the keeper 7, and preferably formed integral with an L-shaped arm or shank 14, which extends beneath the draw-head, and passesupward at the opposite side thereof, through a perforation of thesliding plate. The L-shaped arm or shank 14 is connected with a spring15, which is mounted on the "upper face of the sliding plate, and isadapted to throw the stop 13 upward automatically, when the stop is freeto move, and the draw-head is not over the perforation for the same. Thestop is lowered or depressed, to permit the drawhead to swinghorizontally outward, by means of an operating lever 16, extending tooneside of the car, and provided at its inner'end with aloop or opening 17,and adapted to engage 'the L-shaped arm or shank 14. The

operating lever has its outer end arranged in a keeper 18, and its innerend receives a pin 19, which is arranged in a perforation of the slidingplate 3, and which, when the inner end of the operating lever isdepressed, by raising the -outer end thereof, is adapted to fall, whenthe draw-head is swungoutward, to engage the inner side of the draw-headto lock the draw-head in its uncoupled position. The upper terminal ofthe L-shaped shank 14 is provided above the sliding plate 3 with an arm20, havinga perforation receiving the pin 19, and engaged by the loop orplate 17 of the operating lever.

The operating lever is fulcrumed onone of the draw-timbers and passesthrough a slot or opening thereof; and the keeper 18 at the outer end ofthe lever is provided with a vertical slot or opening, to permit theouter end of the operating lever to be depressed, and it has an upperhorizontalslot form-ing a shoulder 21, forming a support for holding theouter end of the operating lever elevated. This plate or keeper 18 maybe located at the inner face of the side timber of the car, instead ofat the extreme outer edge of the car, if desired.

When it is desired to uncouple the cars, the outer end of one of theoperating levers is elevated, and engaged with the shoulder 21. Thislowers the stop 13, and depresses it be low the upper face of thebottom-of the keeper, and when the cars are moved together, the yieldingwedges of the draw-heads separate the latter, and the pin 19, which isfree tofall, will drop as soon as its draw-head is swung laterally frombeneath the pin 19, which will hold the draw-head outward and preventthe same from coupling, until the outer end of the operating lever islowered.

The loop or opening 17' of the operating lever permits the pin 19 tomove backward and forward with the sliding plate, andthe latter isprovided on its upper face with an integral stop 23, disposedtransversely ofit, and located between the draw-timbers 5,- and arrangedat the front of thesliding plate to engage the end beam of the frame ofthe car, to limit the outward movement of the sliding plate to take thestrain from the pin 19. The inward movement of the sliding plateislimited by a transverse piece 24 of a rectangular frame 25, locatedbetween the draw-timbers 5, and bolted or otherwise secured to thesame.

The rectangular frame is provided at op: posite sides with longitudinalslots 26, forming ways for projections or lugs 27 and 28 of transverseplates 29 and 30. A bumper rod 31 is mounted on the frame of the car andprojects outward therefrom, and carries at its outer terminal a suitablehead 32; and it extends through perforations of the plates 29 and 30,and has disposed on it a spiral spring 33, which is interposed betweenthe plates 29 and 30. The plates 29 and 30 normally lie at the ends ofthe slots of the rectangular frame, being held in that position by thespiral spring. The front or outer plate 29 is secured to the bumper rod,and it is adapted to move rearward, and to compress the spiral springwhen the bumper head moves inward. The other plate 30 loosely receivesthe bumper rod, and engages the frame at the rear terminals of the slots26, when the bumper rod is moved inward to form a stop for thecushioning spring; and it is adapted to be engaged by a lug 34 of thesliding plate 3, whereby when the draw-heads are pulled outward, thespring 33 will form a cushion for the same, thereby enabling the saidspring 33 to serve the double purpose of cushioning the bumper rod, andthe draw-head. The lug 31 is provided with a perforation, and looselyreceives the rear end of the bumper rod.

The keeper 7, which is disposed transversely of the sliding plate 3, isprovided with a rearward extending guide arm 35, having a perforation,receiving the vertical portion of the L-shaped shank 14 of thedepressible stop 13.

It will be seen that the car coupling is simple and comparativelyinexpensive in construction, that it is positive and reliable inoperation, and that it is capable of coupling automatically and of beingreadily uncoupled without going between cars. It will also be apparentthat it will greatly facilitate the rapid making up of trains.

Any suitable means may be employed for enabling the operation ofuncoupling to be performed from the top of a car, or from a platform.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of constructionmay be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificingany of the advantages of this in- Vention.

What I claim is- 1. In a car coupling, the combination of a car, akeeperdepending therefrom, a drawhead pivoted at its rearend and provided atone side with a shoulder and adapted to engage a similar draw-head, aspring for bold ing the draw head in such engagement, a depressible stoparranged at the bottom of the keeper for limiting the outward movementof the draw-head, a stop arranged at the inner side of the draw-head andarranged to lock it uncoupled, and means for operating the stops,substantially as described.

2. In a car coupling, the combination of a car, a horizontally swingingpivotally mounted draw'head, a spring for holding the draw head inengagement with a corresponding draw-head, theinner and outer stopsarranged to engage the draw-head to lock it against inward or outwardmovement, and means for operating the stops, whereby either one or theother will engage the draw-head, substantially as described.

3. In acar coupling, the combination of a car, a horizontally swingingpivotally mounted draw-head, a spring for holding the same coupled, akeeper-receiving the draw-head, a

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spring actuated stop mounted at the bottom of the keeper and arranged tolock the drawhead against outward movement, a pin located above thedraw-head and arranged to engage the inner side of the draw-head to lockthe latter in its uncoupled position, and means for simultaneouslyoperating the stop' and the pin, substantially as described.

4. In a car coupling, the combination of a car, a horizontally swingingdraw-head, a keeper receiving the same, an L-shapedshank provided with alug mountedon the keeper" and arranged to engage the draw-head to limitthe putward movement of the same, said shank extending across the bottomof the draw-head and vertically at the opposite side thereof, a pinmounted above the draw-head and arranged to engage the inner sidethereof, a spring for holding the L-shaped shank normally in an elevatedposition, and an operating lever provided at its inner end with anopening receiving the pin, said operating lever also engaging the shank,and adapted to depress the same against the action of its spring,substantially as described.

5 In a car coupling, the combination of a car, a plate slidingly mountedthereon and provided with a depending transversely disposed keeper, adraw-head pivotally mounted on the plate and arranged to swinghorizontally in the keeper, a pinnnounted on the plate and arrangedto'engage the draw-head for holding it uncoupled, a stop for locking thedraw-head against outward movement, and means for operating the stop andthe pin, substantially as described.

6. In a car coupling, the combination of a horizontally swingingdraw-head, having a shoulder at one side, and pr'ovidedin rear of thesame with a yielding plate, and the inner and outer stops arranged toengage alternately the draw-head, substantially as described.

7. In a car coupling, the combination of a horizontally swingingdraw-head, having a shoulder at one side, a laterally extending platearranged at an angle to the draw-head, and having its front end hingedlyconnected therewith, and a spring interposed between the plate and thedraw-head, whereby a yielding wedge is formed, substantially asdescribed. 4

8. In a car coupling, the combination of a car, a plate slidinglymounted thereon, a drawhead connected with the plate,- a bumper roddisposed longitudinally of the car, the front and rear transverselydisposed plates 29 and 30, mounted in suitable ways of the car, thefront plate 29 being connected with the bumper rod, a spiral springdisposed on the bumper rod and interposed between the plates, and a lugcarried by the sliding plate and arranged to engage the transverse plate30, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in thepresence of two witnesses.

\ JOHN N. MoEHN,

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, E. G. SIGGERS.

